Audit Objective
Did the New Woodstock Fire District (District) Board of Fire Commissioners (Board) conduct an annual audit of the Treasurer’s financial records and reports, and did the Treasurer file the Annual Financial Report (AFR) with the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) as required?
Audit Period
January 1, 2025 – May 1, 2026
We extended our observation of annual AFR filings forward to June 25, 2026, and back to fiscal year 2020.
Understanding the Audit Area
To fulfill its fiscal oversight responsibilities, a board of fire commissioners (board) should conduct an annual audit of the treasurer’s financial records and ensure the treasurer files the AFR with OSC on time as required by New York State (NYS) General Municipal Law (GML) Section 30. Doing so will help identify and address errors or irregularities and provide fire district residents, taxpayers and other interested parties with transparent and reliable information about the fire district’s fiscal condition and operations.
District officials budgeted a total of $148,618 for the general fund appropriations in fiscal year 2025 to provide essential fire protection services; the budget was funded by $167,606 in revenue collections.
Audit Summary
The Board did not conduct an annual audit of the Treasurer’s financial records and reports for fiscal year 2025. Neither the Chairman nor another Commissioner we spoke to were aware the Board should conduct an annual audit, and were therefore unable to tell us when, if ever, the Board last audited the Treasurer’s financial records and reports. However, both Commissioners told us they attended the required fire district commissioner training,1 which should include content about annual audits. In addition, the Treasurer did not prepare and file the 2025 AFR with OSC within 60 days after the fiscal year-end as required by GML Section 30. Prior to this audit, the District’s last filed AFR was for the 2019 fiscal year.
Because the Board did not fulfill its oversight responsibilities and the Treasurer did not fulfill her statutory responsibilities in a timely manner, transparency of the District’s fiscal activities was diminished as District residents, taxpayers, OSC and other interested parties did not have access to the District’s current fiscal condition. As a result, the Board cannot effectively monitor the District’s financial position and available fund balance to make informed decisions or to safeguard District funds by detecting errors and irregularities.
Furthermore, had the Board conducted an annual audit of the Treasurer’s records and reports, it may have identified and potentially helped remedy issues we identified in our review of the Treasurer’s records. Specifically, we determined that the Treasurer, assisted by an appointed bookkeeper, did not:
- Ensure that the Board’s claims audit was documented and all claims were supported prior to payment.
- Ensure that the Board approved all debit card purchases.
- Provide the Board with monthly budget status reports.
- Provide the Board with her records annually, in accordance with NYS Town Law (Town Law) Section 177.
The report includes 10 recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the Board’s fiscal oversight of the District and the transparency of the District’s fiscal activities. District officials generally agreed with our recommendations and their response is included in Appendix B.
This audit was conducted pursuant to Article V, Section 1 of the State Constitution and OSC’s authority as set forth in Article 3 of GML. The audit’s methodology and standards are included in Appendix C.
The Board has the responsibility to initiate corrective action. Pursuant to Section 181-b of Town Law, a written corrective action plan (CAP) that addresses the findings and recommendations in this report must be prepared and forwarded to OSC within 90 days. To the extent practicable, implementation of the CAP must begin by the end of the next fiscal year. For more information on preparing and filing the CAP, please refer to the OSC brochure, Responding to an OSC Audit Report, which was provided with the draft audit report. The Board is encouraged to make the CAP available for public review.